School Integration in Little Rock, Arkansas: Introduction

Although most school districts at least attempted to integrate following
the Supreme Court's Brown
v. Board of Education decision, some school districts, particularly
those in the Deep South, actively avoided desegregation. One of the most
famous cases involved Little Rock's Central High School, where Arkansas
Governor Orval Faubus joined local whites in resisting integration by
dispatching the Arkansas National Guard to block the nine black students
from entering the school. President Dwight Eisenhower responded by sending
federal troops to protect the students. The crisis in Little Rock showed
America that the president could and would enforce court orders with federal
troops. When eight of the nine black students successfully completed the
school year, they showed America that black students could and would endure
the intense hatred that racist white students could dump on them. It
was a big step towards integration and an important one, even
though it caused nine brave teenagers unspeakable pain.